1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an active air flap apparatus for a vehicle and, more particularly, to an active air flap apparatus for a vehicle in which upon the generation of a failure, a connection structure between an actuator and an air flap is manually released, enabling the air flap to be automatically opened by wind supplied by the vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of heat exchangers, such as a radiator, an intercooler, a vaporizer, a compressor, etc., as well as driving parts such as engine and the like, are generally present in an engine compartment.
Such heat exchangers contain an intermediate heat-exchange medium that moves therethrough to exchange heat with the external air so that the external air is cooled or heated. In order for activation of the heat exchanger installed in the engine compartment to be dependable, external air has to be smoothly supplied into the engine compartment.
However, upon high speed traveling of a vehicle or the like, a great amount of external air is quickly introduced, air resistance increases and thus the fuel efficiency drops.
To solve this problem, an active air flap apparatus has been developed in which upon traveling at low speeds, an angle of opening is made larger so as to increase the inflow of air into the engine compartment, and upon traveling at high speeds, the angle of opening is reduced so as to cut back on the inflow of air, thereby contributing to fuel efficiency improvements.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the conventional active air flap apparatus includes a duct 1 fixedly built to a front end module of a vehicle, an actuator 2 fixedly installed at the central portion of the duct 1, an H-type guide frame 4 connected with the actuator 2 via an actuator loader 3 so that it can vertically move with the power from the actuator 2, and an air flap 6 connected with the guide frame 4 via a flap loader 5 and also rotatably installed to the duct 1. Here, the actuator 2 includes a PCB 2a, a motor 2b, and a plurality of gear members 2c. 
Thus, when the actuator 2 is activated under an external condition (engine temperature, cooling-water temperature, etc.), the power from the actuator 2 is transmitted to the guide frame 4 via the actuator loader 3, the guide frame 4 vertically moves as shown in the figures so that the flap loader 5 rotates, and finally the rotating force of the flap loader 5 is transmitted to the air flap 6 and thus rotates the air flap 6 so that the duct 1 is opened or closed.
In the active air flap apparatus, if the actuator 2 fails to operate owing to an electrical short-circuit or failure of the motor 2a or the like, it is impossible to operate the air flap 6 while a vehicle is in motion. In particular, if the operation of the air flap 6 is impossible under the situation where the air flap 6 blocks the duct 1, temperature of the engine and other heat exchangers increases, causing the vehicle to have serious problems.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.